The Indianapolis Colts had a slow start offensively, with the team committing turnovers and racking up unnecessary penalties that put the Colts in poor field position. Peyton Manning threw for an early interception which led to a Patriots touchdown with eight minutes left in the first quarter, giving New England a quick 7-0 lead.

While this match-up Sunday was nothing short of exciting, the Patriots had the upper hand the entire game. New England’s defense got to Manning quick which took him out of his comfort zone, forcing him to make many throws on the run.

Despite loss, Running Back Donald Brown and Tight End Jacob Tamme have become more reliable as each week passes, leaving a glimmer of hope for the young Colts backups.

Brown contributed more in the second half and rushed for a total of 68 yards while Tamme had 60 yards receiving, his longest catch was for seventeen yards.

In addition to bright spots of Brown and Tamme, 3rd string Tight End Gijon Robinson recorded his first career touchdown catch in the second quarter. He became the 35th player to catch a touchdown pass from Manning. Right before halftime Manning and Reggie Wayne connected for a touchdown with four seconds left in the second quarter, which swung the pendulum for the Colts, going into the locker room down by only one touchdown. Things seemed to be looking up for the Colts.

The Colts defense was revived in the third quarter by the signature spin move of Dwight Freeney that led to a sack of Quarterback Tom Brady. This gave him his seventh sack of the season totaling 91 career sacks.

Unfortunately, the sensational 36 yard touchdown run of 5’8 Patriots running back Danny Woodhead and heroic tackle on the following kick return, brought New England’s crowd into a frenzy and shifting the momentum back to the home team. The score was 28-14 with four minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Shortly after the Patriots scored, Manning threw his second pick of the day.

The fourth quarter was time for Manning to redeem himself and put together a few quality drives to get his team back into the game, and indeed he did.

The emergence of rookie Wide Receiver Blair White came in handy after Austin Collie left the game with a second concussion in less than one month. White caught two touchdown passes from Peyton in the fourth, one for five yards and the other for 18 yards, making it a 28-31 game with two minutes and eighteen seconds left in regulation.

After a quick turnover on downs by the Patriots, Manning’s third interception iced the game with thirty-one seconds remaining in regulation.

Peyton Manning uncharacteristically threw for three interceptions in the highly anticipated match up with the now 8-3 New England Patriots.